Bob Stookey's Demise
by TWDFanLucy
Summary: 1st time posting, so PLEASE review, love or hate (detailed as possible please!). If you like, I'll post Ch 2 (about Carol!) I'm not much of a writer, so don't expect anything good... I really appreciate feedback! This story is a take on S5 E2 "Strangers". Gareth doesn't kidnap Bob from outside Fr. Gabriel's church. Instead Bob reacts differently to his being bit at the food bank:


The group has finished their feast at Fr. Gabriel's church and Rick, Michonne and Sasha have been talking: "They're still alive ya know", Rick grumbled about the Terminus group, "I KNOW they'll be looking for us." Carl overheard while holding a sleeping baby Judith. "We should've finished them off, Dad. We really should have", he interjected. "It just didn't go that way. It wasn't the way it was. But your Dad's right. They could've followed us here already." Sasha replied. "We should take turns on watch. I'll start now." Bob gives Sasha a quick kiss. "Ok, you do that darling. We'll all feel safe knowing the sharpshooter is on guard", he said with his signature grin. "Don't you make me do all the work!, Sasha joked. "Somebody's gotta board up the back window if we're gonna sleep in that basement tonight." However, Bob knew something the rest of the happy group didn't. He had been bitten by a walker when he slipped under the water at the food bank earlier that day. After leaving the church, Bob didn't gather the wood scraps that we supposed to use to secure the window; instead he began searching for something else.

After Bob left, the group continued to talk about how they would keep the church secure from the possible threat of the Terminians. "I'll take the next shift", Rick said. "We can't have any slip-ups. We gotta be on our toes day and night", Michonne said getting annoyed at the thought of complacency. "We can't afford to give them an opportunity". She turned to Rick, "Now listen. I wouldn't normally say to this to you, Rick. "But if you wanna take a piss, make sure you do it when I'M there to replace you!" Carl agreed, eager to volunteer, "She's right Dad. And I'm available too. Just let me know when you need me".

Meanwhile, Bob Stookey, overcome with grief, tore through the group's supply of weaponry. He paused when he located Rick's gun and a pair of his sheriff's handcuffs. He unlocked the safety on the gun, made sure it was loaded, and, taking care to avoid being detected by the rest of the group, quietly slipped out of the church. Glenn, Maggie, and a few others not on watch duty were cleaning up the church from the wonderful feast the group enjoyed earlier that night. It had been the first times in weeks, maybe months, that the group could relax and enjoy themselves, even briefly. Bob and Sasha were becoming more connected. But now the memory of the day was only serving to make Bob feel melancholy.

Alone outside, Bob shook his head, stared down at the gun, and began speaking to himself. "Doesn't get any better than THIS night," Bob Stookey said. "People die in this thing. Can't lose that girl", he muttered.

He took the handcuffs out of his pocket, cuffed himself to the iron fence behind the church, and shot himself in the chest with Rick's pistol. He died instantly.

Back inside the church, after a couple hours had elapsed, the group began to question what had happened to Bob and Carol, as both had gone missing. "I'll look for 'em , Rick said. " I'll do a sweep around the outside of the church to see if I can locate them. Don't worry, I don't think they've fallen prey to anything. But I'm starting to worry that they would both just vanish like that".

When Rick went around the back of the church and found Bob (who had by this time already turned) handcuffed to the fence as a walker with a gun on the ground beside him, he immediately knew what had transpired. He struggled with the thought of how he would break the news to Carl, or worse yet, Sasha, who had a tendency to come unhinged through grief.

As Rick entered the church, he saw Carl, stacking a huge pile of logs and sticks that were to be used for the group's campfire and cooking. "Hey son", Rick said.

"Hey dad", Carl replied. "Look. I stacked the wood. I stacked it real good".

"That's nice son. That's real nice. You're really gettin' the hang of this home-livin' now", said Rick. (Oh well here goes, he thought).

"Son, there's somethin' you should know. Bob Stookey committed suicide tonight. He's already turned."

Carl was stunned. "What?! Where is he?! Let me at him! I'll blow his brains out!"

"No…no, son," Rick replied. "I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I don't want you to think of him that way. He was responsible, he chained himself to the fencing behind the church, so he could be a danger to no one. Now come on, son. I want you to see it for yourself. Come on now, don't take my word for it. Take a look."

Rick and Carl walked outside. Carl looked at the walker that was once Bob, handcuffed securely to the fence as it growled and gurgled. Carl quickly simmered down. "I see, dad. Well… okay then. But how will we ever tell Sasha? It seems like just as soon as we have some time to rest, it changes. Just like that, it changes…"

END OF CHAPTER 1.


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